Last year, Tetrach’s Diamond Rowe made history as the first female guitar player in the history of Jackson with a signature guitar.
She also became only the second Black female artist to be honored with a signature guitar – her single-cut Pro Series Monarkh following Fender’s multiple collaborations with H.E.R.
But despite carving her name into electric guitar folklore, she says one of her greatest achievements happened behind the scenes, when Slipknot’s Jim Root asked her for guitar lessons.
“I got messaged by Jim Root and he was like, ‘Dude, you need to give me guitar lessons!’, I was like, ‘OK, dude, come on,’” she tells Stereoboardrolling her eyes as her wicked sense of humor strides forth. “I was like, ‘How about we exchange guitar lessons?’”
Rowe hasn’t revealed what tips were traded during their lessons, but it’s clear that both players have plenty to offer one another – oh, to be a fly on the wall for that!
Tetrarch’s blend of nu-metal nostalgia and whammy-laden guitar solos has left many of her peers impressed. She’s had the backing of Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares and Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta – but mastering the art of the guitar solo in a nu-metal setting wasn’t easy.
Speaking to Guitar World about the challenge last year, she said: “Not many bands of Tetrarch’s nature play guitar solos, I’ve had to learn how to fit our style and not just play some dad-rock solo.”
During her Steroboard chat, she also revealed that, in recognition of how much his weird, off-kilter style of playing has imprinted on the band, she gifted one of her signatures to Korn’s Brian “Head” Welch. “That experience was crazy!” she beams.
Rowe’s rise with Tetrarch, who released their third album, The Ugly Side of Me last month, comes after a pact the band made years ago.
“When we were just 11, we were like, ‘We want to be one of the biggest bands in our genre,’” she recalls. “I don’t want to sit around and celebrate our new album for too long, because there’s still a lot to do. We want to play bigger shows and bigger tours and become a household name, and do this until we can’t do this anymore.”
As for common misconceptions about having a signature model? “I think some people look at a signature model and think, ‘I’m gonna put everything I’ve ever wanted to try into this guitar,’” she says. “But for me, I looked at it more like, ‘No, I want it to be what Diamond plays.’ So anyone picking up this guitar is getting something I truly believe in.”
In 2025, she stands as a modern-day guitar hero and a mold-breaker, and it’s a growth that has happened without ego.
“I never tried to be something I’m not,” she underscores, “and I was able to accomplish all these things organically on my journey. And now, something like getting a signature guitar winds up having a bigger impact than maybe I could have even anticipated. That’s a cool thing. And it all comes from just being Diamond.”
